


Adaptability

by epherians



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Inspired by Fanart, Pokemon References, Puns & Word Play, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5573046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epherians/pseuds/epherians
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How to do it? Let Evie count the ways. She is certain to have a strategy in mind when there are so many options in her hands.</p><p>Evie Frye, inspired by a similar-sounding “namesake” and its evolutions. Written before the release of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adaptability

**Author's Note:**

> I promise, this is the last pre-release piece for Syndicate (i.e. started before October 23rd, discusses vague concepts inspired by official promos, but with some details from the full game added in because the piece was _not_ completed before October 23rd). All subsequent stories will reference the full game now. \o/
> 
> The inspiration for this prompt came from two places. The first was [this comic](http://spacebon.tumblr.com/post/122641402388/a-failed-attempt) by MissZKits, where I first saw the pun between Evie and Eevee’s names. The second was Evie’s gameplay reveal in August 2015, especially a certain, all-the-rage topic called the Chameleon skill. While haters were hating, I just got to thinking... and the result was a piece that combines some more lovely prompts with an overdose of puns.
> 
> No Pokémon names in this fic, though, because that would break immersion. Happy hunting for references! Gotta catch 'em all!

For Evie Frye, a skilled Assassin was one who would always be hidden in plain sight until the time was right to strike. Truthfully, a successful Assassin would be one who could slip in, dispatch the target, and escape without causing suspicion. In this changing stage called London, a variety of strategies were becoming available to the master of stealth, and she took into consideration how many different ways she could approach a mission…

* * *

Everything becomes busier in the rain. Drizzles or downpours splosh in _pat-pat-pat_ sounds that can easily overpower one’s footsteps, and in a city of such sprawling crowds as London, blending in a cluster has never been easier. Too much is going on all at once; it’s the perfect opportunity to be that blade in the crowd, creating a powerful statement and then slipping away before the confusion sets in. The way rain hits the pavement, a sense of urgency is conveyed, and the people around move quickly and hurriedly to that same flow.

No one will suspect the hooded Assassin behind the kill, but it’s certain to be a clean one anyway. Blood may be thicker than water, but the rain will wash it all out, and the people will be none the wiser as to who did it.

* * *

Alternately, perhaps the time came for things to be _shocking_. The invention of the voltaic bomb is certainly a unique one, guaranteed to electrify foes within range when the going gets tough. Smoke bombs are enough to cover a retreat, but sometimes, beating up Templars and Blighters makes a louder statement. Evie knows a good fight when she can win it, and in honing her skills in London, she can’t resist passing up the opportunity for a brawl.

One click to the ground creates a show of bright flashes and sparks, and where an unharmed Evie stands in the center, it’ll scare her foes into rueing the day they goaded and provoked an Assassin.

* * *

Outside tools can be used to their advantage, and there’s no weapon more common throughout the factories and toiling grounds than dynamite, primed and ready for ignition. Normally, Jacob’s the one to go for lining up those explosive crates, but Evie’s no stranger to the act either. (Sometimes, it’s the best way to cause a scene without even entering it in the first place.) Other uses for fire include incriminating evidence and destructive substances that could stand to be burned away. And as the Rooks clear out the Blighter strongholds, there's always the traditional moment when the enemy flag is torched, signaling victory to London’s newest gang.

Oh, smoke and soot are a way of life in industrial London, so much so that danger is all too prevalent if one is not careful. Evie takes care to ensure that when a fire starts, she is very, very far away from it, and can protect herself when faced with danger engulfed in flames.

* * *

Eagle Vision is an Assassin's boon, and she and her brother are fortunate to share the gift of second sight. It was such a strange ability to concentrate on when they were younger, but she finds seeing the world in ghostly shades a sometimes needed route of peace and quiet to focus and still her thoughts. Calmness is required, though, to activate this paradigm shift, and any motion faster than running will take that concentration away. Sometimes the silence, the muffling of sound around her is unnerving, and the fear she cannot see the world in colors again is all too easy to seep in…

But once she takes in the marks, the various targets scattered in her surroundings, Evie focuses on what she knows best: _strategy_. Analyzing patterns, searching for routes, working out solutions. It is her best element as an Assassin, and knowing already makes the battle halfway won.

* * *

When she has a choice, Evie prefers to strike at nighttime, where the shadows cloak her presence and she can blend almost perfectly with her surroundings. The deadliest predator is one who can be a blind spot, unseen and unnoticed until the moment she leaps from the rafters and catches her target unawares. The thrill of honing her stealth and silence is what makes Evie prefer this strategy many times over charging into a caucous scuffle like her brother tends to do.

Yet, as ideal as the strategy sounds, Evie cannot always carry out missions after sunset—efficiency means maximizing the time with as much that can be accomplished in one day. For a master of stealth, though, sneaking around in daylight can be just as elusive as it is in the absence of.

* * *

Hiding from a haystack, or a pile of leaves, is always a safe bet. The autumn season is benevolent in bringing in leaves, the foliage collected en masse and gathered in bins all around the city. But taking cover in a cart like this requires blind trust—hiding limits Evie’s vision, forcing her to rely solely on what she can hear from the voices of people passing by. Leaves, like the leaps taken to land in them, need faith to hide in their safety.

From a hiding spot, she can thin out the guards hampering her infiltration. When bold chance rises, she will give a sharp whistle, and await the unsuspecting fool who approaches the cart and meets his doom. But in some cases, the charade is up once she makes a kill—already, a pack of Templars and Blighters have spotted her, but who can’t Evie Frye take down singlehandedly at this point?

* * *

Winter weather is unavoidably harsh, that for once, Evie does not have time to stay still and watch for every move. A strategy like her brother’s would be more apt—charge in head-on and silence as many attackers as possible, if all for the fuel of adrenaline and blood pumping through her veins to keep her body warm. Her Assassin robes are suitable for the cold, but it's still dangerous staying out in such exposure for so long. The first winter in London brings up a layer of obstacles only the most protected of people can hope to last through.

Perhaps it is harsh to take her target's life out where the cold slowly kills, but perhaps it is only fitting that her target should be put out of their misery with severe conditions like these.

* * *

All else aside, there is always a certain method that—although Evie wouldn’t take advantage of it—can aid her in ways it can’t aid Jacob: persuasion of the ladylike kind.

She can’t deny, or let it get to her head, that being a young woman comes with a certain charm and good grace others are wont to fall for. Already, Evie is an oddity to London’s citizens, running about in hooded, dark robes and wildly unafraid to bludgeon Blighters with a cane-sword. But outside of being an Assassin and gang leader, to those close to her, Evie is the friend they want to have, they know they can rely on. Jacob can similarly lead, rally, and be persuasive in getting his way, but Evie still considers politeness and sincerity as the more earnest way of offering assistance to others. In this way, barter and negotiations can go smoothly, establishing good relations across all parties, and thus stabler ground for a pair of twins who’ve only recently come to London.

(She is an oddity to the Assassins too, as cases are rare and few of female members of the _Brother_ hood, but how that will not stop Evie from being the best Assassin she can be!)

* * *

At the core of it all, Evie knows she’s ready. London is a world away from the life she knew, but this is her chance to prove herself, and prove she can do something to better the state of the Brotherhood. Jacob is eager to run free and start a revolution, but so too is Evie, seeking to uphold her duty to protect and fight for the people’s freedom. All her life, spent training to become the Assassin she is, has now come to this. A test awaits them, and the only acceptable outcome is success.

For Evie Frye, taking back London will be a mission unlike any other, but she’s certain she won’t fail—she’ll simply adapt.


End file.
